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Tyrannosaurus rex
Tyrannosaurus1 is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex (rex meaning "king" in Latin) is one of the most well-represented of the large theropods. Tyrannosaurus lived throughout what is now western North America, on what was then an island continent known as Laramidia. Tyrannosaurus had a much wider range than other tyrannosaurids. Fossils are found in a variety of rock formations dating to the Maastrichtian age of the upper Cretaceous Period, 68 to 66 million years ago.2 It was the last known member of the tyrannosaurids,3 and among the last non-avian dinosaurs to exist before the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction. Like other tyrannosaurids, Tyrannosaurus was a bipedal carnivore with a massive skull balanced by a long, heavy tail. Relative to its large and powerful hind limbs, Tyrannosaurus fore limbs were short but unusually powerful for their size and had two clawed digits. The most complete specimen measures up to 12.3 m (40 ft) in length,4 up to 3.66 meters (12 ft) tall at the hips,5 and according to most modern estimates 8.4 metric tons (9.3 short tons) to 14 metric tons (15.4 short tons) in weight.467 Although other theropods rivaled or exceeded Tyrannosaurus rex in size, it is still among the largest known land predators and is estimated to have exerted the largest bite force among all terrestrial animals.89 By far the largest carnivore in its environment, Tyrannosaurus rex was most likely an apex predator, preying upon hadrosaurs, armored herbivores like ceratopsians and ankylosaurs, and possibly sauropods.10 Some experts have suggested the dinosaur was primarily a scavenger. The question of whether Tyrannosaurus was an apex predator or a pure scavenger was among the longest ongoing debates in paleontology.11 It is accepted now that Tyrannosaurus rex acted as a predator, and opportunistically scavenged as modern mammalian and avian predators do. More than 50 specimens of Tyrannosaurus rex have been identified, some of which are nearly complete skeletons. Soft tissue and proteins have been reported in at least one of these specimens. The abundance of fossil material has allowed significant research into many aspects of its biology, including its life history and biomechanics. The feeding habits, physiology and potential speed of Tyrannosaurus rex are a few subjects of debate. Its taxonomy is also controversial, as some scientists consider Tarbosaurus bataar from Asia to be a second Tyrannosaurus species while others maintain Tarbosaurus is a separate genus. Several other genera of North American tyrannosaurids have also been synonymized with Tyrannosaurus. As the archetypal theropod, Tyrannosaurus is one of the best-known dinosaurs since the 20th century, and has been featured in film, advertising, and postal stamps, as well as many other types of media. In Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real A male T.Rex, famished from not eating anything in days, was seen patrolling its territory when it stumbles upon a juvenile Prehistoric Dragon on its turf. Upon approaching the dragon, it displays false-eyes under its wings to scare the dinosaur, when this didn't work the dragon tried unleashing a screech. Though the theropod was in pain it still stood strong and briefly fought with the dragon before the mother arrived, impaling her talons into the dinosaur's head and eventually defeated the dinosaur with a spew of fire. The T.Rex walks away burned and in defeat, and while it was never shown to die, the narrator remarked that it would, and either way he wasn't completely beaten as he did manage to rupture the mother dragon's left-wing, which eventually killed her. Jack Tanner, an American paleontologist working for the Natural History Museum in London, found the skeleton of the dinosaur, he even identified the claw and burns marks caused by the dragon, though he was the only one who believed that a dragon was responsible. Gallery External links Category:Reptiles